“We’re about to see a significant pilot shortage in the very near future,” said Rick Rademaker, president of Executive Aviation. and Chief Flight Instructor for AZFTC. “Combined with the rising costs of expert training, we’re literally seeing the student pilot ranks declining.”

Rademaker believes this is a real problem, as the demand will eventually exceed the supply of qualified pilots. “In order to fulfill future openings, prospective pilots need to start their training now,” he said.

Rademaker hopes that the offer of free ground school, in addition to pilot financing, will help attract anybody who might have been discouraged in the past from flying because of cost.

Arizona Flight Training Center, already has a well established military ATP program, that prepared more than 100 pilots last year for a transition into commercial aviation.

“We’ve become pretty well known for the quality of training we provide to some of the already best trained pilots in the world,” he said,

But he adds that he believes the bulk of the next generation of flight crews will have to come from general aviation.

“I hope a lot of people take us up on the offer because it could lead to a lucrative career. Besides, it is truly the best job in the world,” he said.

Each student that finishes the ground school course will receive a Part 141 certificate of completion. Classes are starting in September and are on a first come, first served basis.

“We’re going to see what kind of response we get to the free offer and then decide how long we’ll keep it going,” he said.

Arizona Flight Training Center is a Part 141 flight school, based at the Glendale Municipal Airport (KGEU), in Glendale, Arizona. The fleet includes aircraft from the Piper Seneca, to the Garmin GNS-430 equipped, Cessna 172, as the core training platform.